


Mildly Gay

by MeltyRum



Category: Fate/Zero, VA-11 Hall-A (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyRum/pseuds/MeltyRum
Summary: Big chillin
Kudos: 1
Collections: Boku no Hero Academia x Persona





	Mildly Gay

It had been an uncharacteristically slow night for the Regal, but Dana had been around just long enough to know that this wasn’t always rare. Occasionally, the world would conspire to retire early for the evening, meaning the club might be incentivized to close down a bit earlier in the evening—or the morning, as it often was. That all made sense, though: sometimes, ladies just had somewhere better to be, and it wasn’t as though the Regal pulled _no_ customers, so she didn’t often find herself saddled with the responsibility of entertaining bored hosts, although she did get along quite well with a significant majority of them.

She had already cleaned up the bar around midnight, since the manager declared that they likely wouldn’t be getting any new customers, judging by the crowd; an unusually cold and wet night, he said, which meant less people traipsing about in search of merriment. And if there was one truth about Tokyo nightlife, it’s that there was no merriment without alcohol, so Dana prepared herself for an early night, with all her equipment put away far ahead of schedule as the final customer waved farewell to the last remaining man on the floor, the rest having either been dismissed or preparing for their staggered exodus in the dressing room.

She took a tray to his table, taking the nearly-empty glasses which sat there. “I bet she felt like a pretty lucky customer; it was pretty much just you two out here, Furukawa-san,” she observed.

He gave her a deep and satisfying little chuckle, maintaining the effortless poise and grace which had earned him so many fans. She felt her heart flutter a little bit, despite herself. Stupid sexy hosts.

“I hope you’re right,” he replied. “I was worried she might feel a little rushed, considering how it appears we’re closing down.”

“Yep. Manager’s orders, and all that. No reason to pay us all to stay here if no one’s coming in. Will you be able to keep yourself busy, getting out a couple hours early like this?” she asked, taking her little tray of glasses and returning them to the bar.

To her surprise, he followed her there.

“I’m sure I can think of something,” he mused. “Leaving work early should be something to celebrate, after all.”

She granted him a knowing nod as she soaped up the glasses. “So maybe you’ll head to a club, yourself?”

Hikaru smiled at that thought. “I’m sure I could learn a thing or two by visiting some hostesses, yes; I’ll have to think about it. But I’m not in any hurry, if you need the company.”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to hold you back, but I won’t turn down a free conversation with a host. Anyway, the manager gave me the key to close, so we’re free to hang out for a bit, if you want.” She set the glasses aside for drying, deciding she can give them another once-over once the morning comes. “Let’s sit on the couches, if you’re planning to hang around.”

He chuckled again as she led him back to his usual station, where he assumed his seat with a smooth elegance that made Dana wonder for a split second if he wasn’t actually just floating above the cushion. “You want me to give you the host treatment, Dana-san?”

She shook her head. “Whatever you’re comfortable with, but I’m just looking to chat, not get pampered. Wouldn’t make you work for free, anyway, Furukawa-san.” She paused, searching for the topic that might earn his interest. “I guess we just haven’t talked all that much yet, so I feel like I barely know you. Do your customers ever ask about you?”

“Part of our job is to try and keep the focus on them, but… of course they do, yes. I don’t know if there’s that much to tell, but I’ll to my best to answer if you’re curious about anything,” said Hikaru, with an inviting smile.

“Alright. Let’s see, then…” Dana stroked her chin as she regarded him, uncertain where to begin, given how lacking her knowledge of him already was. “Did you go to college?”

He gave her a crisp nod. “I did. And you?”

“Nope.” She chuckled, amused at the speed with which he had made her the subject of conversation. Did _he_ have his share of secrets, too? Or was that just his instinct as a practiced host? “No education for me; I was lucky to make it through high school, so I’ve just been working since then. Did you graduate? College, I mean.”

“Yes. I’ve got a degree in engineering, although it’s not seeing much use these days.”

“No kidding. How did you end up here, then?”

“I was having a little trouble finding a position straight out of college, so I was scouted while looking for part time work.” His smile looked just a touch sheepish. “I don’t mean to sound like a brag, but I’ve always been fairly popular with women. Anyway, it started as something of a hobby, but since I ended up enjoying the work so well, I decided to stay with it—and so here I am. With any luck, I’ll age as gracefully as Saito-san.”

“We can all hope; still, he definitely seems like a bit of a unique case, after looking at all the other guys.” She’d never even heard of a host of such an age before she worked at the Regal, and she got the impression it would be hard to find any in the other clubs around the city, too.

“No doubt,” he agreed. “Saito-san is truly something else. Hosts don’t usually stay in business long enough for their looks to age them out of it, since they often move on for _other_ reasons, but Saito-san has probably been doing this longer than I’ve been alive. I’m impressed he still has a passion for his work.”

“When you put it like that, it almost sounds like you don’t enjoy the work, yourself.”

“Oh, not at all!” He chuckled at her again. “I still enjoy the work very much; I can even say I’m still passionate for it, certainly. But will I be able to say that so confidently after another twenty years of it? That I can’t say.”

Dana nodded, considering the conversational (and, indeed, _host-_ like) tenor with which Furukawa-san had been speaking, getting the feeling he was holding something back. It wasn’t that she _doubted_ him, per se, but there was definitely a ‘but’ inside Furukawa-san’s words. “I don’t mean to sound skeptical, but what do you like so much about the job? Just… talking with women, I guess?”

“It sounds bad, when you say it like that,” he pointed out, letting out some embarrassed laughter. “I wouldn’t say talking with women is intrinsically all that fun, but there are certainly some who make it that way—particularly regulars who I’ve connected with on some level. It really depends on the customer: don’t tell Akiyama-san I said this, but some are truly terrible. It seems that some of them come here just to escape the love lives they already have; it can be difficult to enjoy the work when serving someone so greedy and jealous…”

He trailed off a somewhat shameful grimace before meeting Dana’s gaze again.

“My apologies,” he continued, bringing a confident smile back to his face. “I certainly shouldn’t be complaining about our guests. I could never win against women.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed that: you seem to play them like fiddles when you’re on the floor. Anyway, don’t mind me; I’m honestly pretty happy I don’t have to serve customers myself. Even if it’s you’re job, talking all night can’t be that easy.” She scrutinized him once more, again getting the feeling that there was something else he wanted to stay. “But the good outweighs the bad, I’m guessing.”

“Definitely. Most customers are perfectly lovely, in some way or another. Plus, we’ve got some nice variety recently in order to make things more interesting, like the ‘show’ that Fai and I have been putting on. It’s a shame he had to leave early today; he’s new, so he might be able to share the appeal with you better than I could—since I’m so used to it.” He laughed again, one of his hands rising to his face as he subtly brushed his bottom lip with a forefinger, this gesture appearing as longing as it was graceful, as though she was momentarily looking at a young maiden.

Young maiden? Dana felt some nerves located at the back of her neck begin to tingle, something vibrating in her hair folliclesand informing her that they were finally getting close to the heart of it—whatever it was that she had sensed weighed on Hikaru’s chest. Is this what it felt like to get stronger as a bartender!?

Trying to measure her excitement, Dana focused on the subject that had alerted her. “Fai, huh? You do seem pretty friendly with each other—although it’s hard to blame you. I like him, too.”

He grinned, apparently pleased with this news. “Yes, he’s a lot of fun to work with. Very charming, even if he hasn’t been here long—and popular for a variety of reasons. Less of a ‘one trick pony’ than some of us—including myself—since he’s a former hero.”

“And then there’s the eye-patch,” she added, since that was a rather important charm point. “I can see why he’d have a lot to bring to the table. Plus there’s the whole… _duet_ thing that you two do.”

Furukawa laughed. “Yes, that always seems to get our guests excited—even the ones who have seen it before.”

He paused, but Dana could tell that this was a good place to wait in silence; the pensive look in his eyes told her that he had plenty to add. So she sat back and relaxed, feeling assured by her instincts that this is what they had both been unwittingly working towards all along—that he was about to share the fruits of what their rapport had earned.

“This might not come as a surprise,” he began, aiming his gaze at the floor rather than her. “But I’d never kissed a man before that. And even though it was only for show…” he trailed off, smiling sheepishly as he turned to look her in the eye. “I probably shouldn’t even say this, but I get the feeling you’ll understand, Dana-san. Maybe I’m just being naive, but I think—our ‘romantic’ displays aside—I’ve started to develop a little crush on Fai.”

Dana nodded knowingly. She _hadn’t_ known, of course, but it was one of those things that made you _feel_ like you’d already known it once you heard it, like you could have almost said the words along with him if you had bothered to try—like _d_ _éjà vu_ , or something.

“Does Fai know?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I haven’t said anything, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has his suspicions. Of course, it probably isn’t fair to him for me to keep it secret—or it might be accurate to describe it as creepy. But…”

“But you’ve never felt that way about a guy before, right?” she guessed.

“Right,” he said, letting out some defeated, dry laughter. “So maybe that alone explains my feelings for him, since he was the first—not that he isn’t appealing in other ways,” he added quickly. “It all took me off guard, is all; finding out that I might like men is only a little distressing—mostly confusing, really, although I wouldn’t go around advertising it.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean, Furukawa-san.” She crossed her arms, trying to remember when _she_ had first struggled with those feelings. “I’m a little gay too, to be honest. I think it will start to feel normal over time, unless you end up deciding you’re just ‘Fai-sexual’.” She suppressed a smug smile, although she was quite pleased with this little joke.

Hikaru laughed again. “I sincerely hope that’s not the case, because I’m afraid Fai is taken.” He took a closer look at her, though, as though scrutinizing her alongside the new information she had given him. “Still, even if I got the impression you wouldn’t mind hearing me out, I can’t say I suspected you were the same, Dana-san.”

“Right. It usually doesn’t come up unless I’m interested in someone, after all.”

“Does that mean you’re interested in me?” he asked, smiling. “Perhaps we should meet outside of the Regal sometime, Dana-san; it would be best to get Fai off my mind, anyhow.”

Dana gave him a sad little smile in return, not looking forward to rejecting him—even though he might be joking. “If you’re talking about a date: I’m certainly flattered, but I’ve unfortunately already got someone for the near future, so we might have to put that on hold. Of course, we can certainly go get some drinks sometime—that’d be fun, if not as satisfying as netting a boyfriend.”

He nodded his understanding, ostensibly untroubled. “It could be just what I need, in fact,” he mused, stroking his jaw as he considered it. “Perhaps after I tell Fai my feelings, since—once it’s off my chest—I’m sure I’ll need a stiff drink or two to forget my mortification.”

She chuckled, relating to that feeling rather well. “Okay. You say the word, Furukawa-san.”

“Let’s make it Hikaru, if you don’t mind. I’ve shared with you a terrible secret, after all,” he declared, smiling.

“Well, it’ll be safe with me, Hikaru-san,” she replied. “I know you’re an adult—and my senpai here, no less—but just let me know if you ever need to talk about it. I like to think I’ve been down that street a few times.”

“You have my gratitude, Dana-san,” said Hikaru with exaggerated gravity, as he rose to his feet. “I’ll be sure to ask your guidance. But I suppose we should leave while it’s still an early night.” He offered her his hand, to pull her to her feet. “Shall we?”


End file.
